A Good Year for the Roses
by Sarah Jane Shaw
Summary: "Rukia was the type of girl who named and got attached to silly things..." IchiRuki, cute and maybe a little sad.


**A Good Year for the Roses**

Rukia was the type of girl who named and got attached to silly things. Inanimate objects for example or little animals. Basically anything with a cute face drawn on it Rukia would fall instantly in love with. This was a quality that most people found endearing, Ichigo himself might have found this endearing too, if Rukia was seven years old. But Rukia was not a child, Rukia was a hundred and fifty years of age and shouldn't still go into sparkly-mode whenever a bunny rabbit bounced by.

Who knew that this childlike personality trait could extend beyond things with faces? Ichigo thought with a smile as he crouched down beside the familiar leafy shrub, allowing himself to fall into one of his happier memories.

_-flashback-_

Ichigo was angry. He had been stomping around the courtyard of Karakura High for a good three minutes now in search of his Shinigami companion who, he noticed, was very good at slipping away during lunch breaks. He hadn't paid particular attention to her absence to start with but once the bell had signalled the beginning of afternoon lessons and Rukia had not returned to her seat, Ichigo felt it was his job to go and find her. Since the start of her (hopefully) temporary stay with him Ichigo found himself feeling less annoyance and resentment towards his little houseguest and more... affection? No that was the wrong word. Concern maybe. She was so damn small after all and she didn't know a damn thing about this world she'd been forced to be a part of and without her powers she was practically helpless if she ran into danger. The truth of the matter was Ichigo was the one who robbed her of her powers so he figured, in some abstract way, that it was his responsibility to make sure that she was okay. Still this new found sense of responsibility did not mean he had to be happy that she had disrupted his day by disappearing. Ichigo was angry.

Eventually he found her. The tiny raven haired girl was couched next to a row of shrubbery at the far end of the courtyard. The small leafy shrubs lined the high cross wire fence that separated the school grounds from the busy road outside.

"Rukia! What the hell are you doing? The bell rang five minutes ago!" Ichigo exclaimed striding angrily towards his pseudo classmate.

"I'm busy Ichigo. If you're worried about getting in trouble with the teacher you can go on ahead." She said the tone of mockery in her voice subtle but obvious. It irked him.

"Of course I'm not worried about that. I thought maybe there was trouble" he lied, the thought of a Hollow attack hadn't actually occurred to him until that moment.

"No, no trouble" She said flatly not moving from her spot on the ground.

Ichigo kept his feet planted firmly behind her. So she wasn't even going to tell him what she was doing? That was just rude...

"Rukia if you want to keep up your little 'lovely student' routine you really should attend lessons"

No response.

"You're already at the bottom of the class"

No response.

Unimpressed with this stale mate Ichigo sighed and moved to join Rukia on the floor. He expected some form of resistance to approach but it did not seem that what she was doing was a secret. In fact it was possible she hadn't noticed him crouch down beside her at all she was so engrossed in whatever it was she was doing.

What she was doing, it seemed, was gardening. On the soil at her feet lay a garish green book entitled 'Flowers – Say Hello to your New Friends!', a cup of water and a children's plastic spade. Crude gardening implements Ichigo assumed. Rukia was quite busy with a shrub, her nimble fingers doing their best to trim back the leaves with a pair of sewing scissors, no doubt stolen from a classroom.

"Is that a rose?" He asked

"Yeah, it's been buried under all these leaves for a long time" she said stopping her battle with the shrub for moment. "look how wilted it is, and it's all alone here. I'm just trying to help it" she said. Her tongue was sticking out a little from the corner of her mouth and Ichigo noticed her eyes a light with determination as she concentrated on helping the pathetic looking flower. Ichigo shook his head.

"Okay." He said picking up the garish book.

"Ichig-"

"I'll help."

_-end-_

And that's how things were for a while. Ichigo convinced Rukia that she should go back to class and that they would come back after school and tend to the rose. Rukia had grudgingly obliged and that evening, after a trip to a store that stocked gardening equipment, they had returned, armed with fertiliser and insect repellent, to the little rose and done their best to make it a comfortable home.

Ichigo found himself laughing rather a lot that evening; it was then that he had first seen a side to Rukia that wasn't all shinigimi duties and ignorance to juice boxes, that evening he was able to see a glimmer of her heart for the first time. He met the Rukia that became his friend that day.

They made a tradition after that, once a week to come by and check on the Rose, to water it and make sure the rowdiness of the students hadn't disturbed it. That's why Ichigo found himself there today.

Face set in a determined line Ichigo brushed his fingers against the petals of the fragile white rose.

"Rukia, I swear I'll save you"

_A/N: So... What do you think? Totally OOC? *fear* I was struck with inspiration for this story and I just HAD to write it, the image of Ichigo's resolve as he knelt by the rose was just too much for me! ^^Love it? Hate it? Either way – you read it now review! _


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